[spoiler]The introductory early 90ās USA program montage was inexplicably but excessively annoying to me, even as such as I understood that it was a psychological manifestation of Elliotās subconsciousness due to his trauma.
Right now, the narrative is too fragmented in too many directions for my liking; Iām hoping thereāll be more cohesion before the season finale, but I wont be holding my breath.
Then thereās the pacing overall; itās down right sluggish; with little payoff for all the waiting.
Whereas I was once excited to know what was going to happen next in the first season, now Iām just wary about what new ways the writers will find to avoid completing the main plot arcs or giving the audience any substantial satisfaction. [/spoiler]
The 90ās TV treatment was a bit much in the last episode. It was āover the topā in the same way the Fight Club references were in season one. I think Sam has some interesting ideas, but heās not exactly subtle.
The hacking accuracy is more or less spot-on compared to the physical security aspect. A massive datacenterās entire HVAC is manipulable from a broom closet thermostat? A high-profile infosec company doesnāt have security cameras? Autorun is enabled on the stock Windows deployment, just in case some dimwit rentacop finds a parking lot thumb drive and plugs it in?
(Actually, that last one is distressingly common even in supposedly high security environments. That and hiding file extensions, with admin access needed to default to showing them. kitten.jpg.exe anyone? Itās cute, I promise!)
Gotta weigh that on story vs real world, IMHO. It moves the story along & itās not like we havenāt heard of things like that happening IRL.
ā¦besides, I wrote that off as more of a āwe only need a single point of failureā demo - which still necessitated physical access & the addition of a server (pi). Believable in scope of story. It is fiction after all.
Love company branded USBās - totes em - easiest way in if youāre within commuting distance to a target.
Hide extensions for known file types. Why thank you!
Actually, that last one is distressingly common even in supposedly high security environments
Yep.
To reiterate my statement from above Yes, itās fiction. Yes, I expect things to be āclose enoughā, and require some suspension of disbelief. There are still things that strike me as taking liberties, and pull me out of the story.
Allsafe not having security cameras to see that it was Angela sneaking in in the middle of the night to upload the virus at Ollieās workstation. Ollieās workstation being logged in unpassworded all night. A security company not having locks on removable media interfaces. Etcetera. The keyboard stuff is uncommonly well-executed, but the IRL stuff is
If this is about Angela being caught setting up the box, I believe that Darlene said that unless she completed the exploit, she wouldnāt be able to erase the video from the security system. Now, whether this is convincing is another matter but I feel like they handwaved that away.
The lock picking with a tension wrench only was my first big wince on the physical side. I probably commented on it somewhere up thread.
The keyboard stuff is uncommonly well-executed
Agreed. With liberties being taken in every other realm though, I donāt know how long the show will stand up for me. I think my biggest issue is how much pride they seem to take in getting one aspect right, only to ignore others.
There are just some parts where reality would seriously get in the way of the plot. I understand there is kind of an uncanny valley sensation when they get something so wrong, but it appears generally deliberate and not excessively far fetched.
Also, who the hell keeps the default Kali background, and why would you need DPRs credentials to simply browse the store? But I still appreciate details like those, even if they are fan service.
I do like the show. Iāve enjoyed others where suspension of disbelief is a serious prerequisite as well. (e.g. Orphan Black) Iāve been pulled out of the story when it feels like the writers are ātrying too hardā with that one as well. It hasnāt stopped me from watching so far.
Says the man with House as his avatarā¦the show I could never get into because boy-howdy wasnāt that the perfect example of requiring a suspension of disbelief so complete that absolute stupidity was required?
Btw, did I mention I sat two rows in front of High Laurie at a Tim Minchin show once? Oh, and Iām rockinā the House avatar out of solidarity for #teamvicodin at work.
Not for the living with chronic pain part it wasnāt. Canāt remember the last time a realistic CNCP sufferer was the lead in a show, let alone in a show. If ever.
He regularly stole drugs from the hospital to self-medicate ā which was known by administration ā and jumped to ridiculous conclusions requiring expensive and dangerous tests that always magically nearly killed the patient (requiring expensive and scary treatment for said patient, and usually causing some level of permanent damage) before finally getting the diagnosis right on the 4th or 5th try. Any hospital compliance office would have him out in a millisecond. Thatās not the way to accurately or sympathetically represent a CNCP sufferer.
On the subject of drugs, though, considering the actual thread: I really appreciate the fact that they donāt whitewash the effects in Mr. Robot. Itās hard to watch, but thatās how it should be.
Off: Iām not a dr, so I canāt relate to that part, but every other aspect was true to form: breaking his hand just to feel pain somewhere else / have it block out the chronic source, being in a perpetually foul mood, its effects on his life, being crippled- both mentally & physically- by the effects of pain, having it destroy his relationships, having it be his primary driver at all times, caring less about his own life because it now has less value to him - Iāve never seen a leading character like that. One thatās portraying what my life is like, one that I can relate to on that level.
On: I too like the portrayal of Elliotās use of both Morphine & Suboxone as a pairing. @Melizmatic 's second post kinda nailed it & made it feel all too familiar.
em - easiest way in if youāre within commuting distance to a target.
